Costly U.S. work-related injuries and illnesses

How does $250 billion per year in health costs sound to an employer? Not very healthy! A newly released government study shows that amount and more is the cost to employers in New York and across the U.S. for work site accident injuries and illnesses. This total exceeds all costs for cancer, more than costs for diabetes, and it is more than double the costs for strokes.

The author of this study, Paul Leigh, claims that not enough attention is being paid to occupational health. The University of California (Davis) professor of public health sciences says risk from job-related injury and illness is so high because the average worker does spend about 40 percent of his or her time at the workplace.

His analysis of 2007 data includes both fatal and non-fatal statistics, a large increase of over $33 billion since 1992. The fatality count of about 59,000 is even higher than deaths from breast cancer, prostate cancer or motor vehicle crashes. He concludes that employers in the U.S. should focus more on the reduction and prevention of work-related injuries and illnesses.

Another problem for employees suffering from job-related injury or illness is that their workers’ compensation payments are only a fraction of their costs, about one-quarter. This leaves the balance of costs to be paid either by the patient, medical insurance or by Medicare/Medicaid.

Leigh’s study was published last December in the Milbank Quarterly publication; data used was obtained from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers who have received on-the-job injuries or contracted work-related illnesses should contact their personal injury attorney to review their case and to determine if they are eligible for additional compensation for those problems.

Source: U.S. News, “U.S. Work-Related Injuries, Illness Take Toll on the Till,” Jan. 20, 2012